Visit Flower Pot: 1006 Dundas Street West, Toronto
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With Toronto’s cannabis retailers finally able to open their doors to consumers again, Flower Pot owner Sasha Soeterik is welcoming back her customers into her cozy and inviting retail space near Trinity Bellwoods Park. We spoke with her about cannabis culture, retail design, and silver linings.
“For me, weed was always a very peaceful way to relax,” says Sasha when asked about how she got into the cannabis industry in the first place. “There's something about having a joint at the end of the day, getting a chance to unpack everything you've been through. And yeah, never feeling hungover the next day, just feeling like it was a bit of a natural way to pass the time, you know, rather than ingesting something toxic.”
As lifelong weed smokers, Sasha and her partners were excited to jump into retail and be part of this new industry. They could see the demand in Toronto for people who know good cannabis and being local to the Trinity Bellwoods Park area, they were excited to find a space in the neighborhood to create their shop.
It’s important to Sasha and her team that their space feels cozy and comfy, like a living room where you feel welcomed. “I like the apothecary look, I've definitely been heavily influenced by a handful of shops in in Amsterdam.” She tells us.
“I want everyone to come in and feel like they have a spot here for a few minutes to chat with us about what they like, get what they like. ”
While the pandemic and ensuing lockdowns have presented challenges, Sasha maintains a positive outlook, finding silver linings such as discovering new ways to connect with her customers; “I like being able to deliver in person and do this connection with people who might be further afield who've heard of us just through the internet.” She says. Their approach to customer service is personalized and steeped in charm, guaranteeing curious first-timers and seasoned enthusiasts are catered to with every visit.
With a rich history in the legacy market and a genuine interest in seeing retail cannabis benefit consumers and communities around the country, the Flower Pot team is hoping to see more legacy retailers become licensed and stop being treated like criminals. “We should start helping people who were part of the grassroots of this (cannabis industry) get involved,” Sasha says, “This should not be out of reach.”